


.:Letters from the Front:.

by raydiamond



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Actor AU, Alternate Universe - Actors, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Gen, Graphic Description, M/M, Multi, Original Character(s), Other, Virtual Reality, alternative universes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:47:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27566992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raydiamond/pseuds/raydiamond
Summary: Letters from the Front is a Team Fortress 2 Short Story collection.*Every story is it's own story and has no connection to other stories, unless told otherwise.*Will be updated whenever there's new material.*Most of these stories I've written with my own OCs in mind, unless its obvious that they are more based on the canonical characters. Even at these times, they are based loosely. This is to ensure for me to be able to write the characters to as many and different kind of situations and universes and stories as possible.
Relationships: Engineer/Spy (Team Fortress 2), Heavy/Medic (Team Fortress 2), Heavy/Spy (Team Fortress 2), Sniper/Spy (Team Fortress 2), Soldier/Spy (Team Fortress 2)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	1. Seeing RED, Feeling BLU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BLU Spy is having a crisis about his place in the war. Sniper wants to help him.  
> ~  
> ~  
> Update - Fanart added (by yours truly)

2Fort 

* * *

  
  


"I don't know, man, I think he's losing it."

"Nah, mate. You're bein' delusional."

The BLU Scout and Sniper were currently sneaking in the RED team's headquarters, in search of the intelligence. They were in the sewers at the very moment. 

Scout snorted. 

"De-delusional? No, I'm telling you, Sniper, Spy is losin' his shit!" Scout kept demanding and nudged his gun a little. Sniper stopped and turned around towards Scout, who almost bumped into him. 

"Kid, listen to me", Sniper started with a strict tone. He poked Scout's chest as he continued: "Spy is a professional, and it's part of 'is job to infiltrate the enemy lines. That doesn't mean he's losin' his shit." 

"You didn't see how he looked at the Engineers the other day! It was as if, he wanted to-" 

"Zap their stuff and kill 'em? That how it looked like, kid?" 

"As a matter of fact, yeah, that's _exactly_ how it looked like!" 

Sniper frowned deep and held his breath. He wanted to call Scout a brat and leave it at that, but he didn't want bad blood between himself and the kid. 

"Kid, look, just- let the man be. Bein' a Spy can't be easy", he ended up sighing. 

"And I've got this hunch that he's not had it easy, 'is life I mean." 

"There's as much as I'm able to let things slip, Sniper. If it happens that he's gonna end up hurting somebody-" Scout started. 

"He is not", Sniper demanded. 

He turned around in frustration, and suddenly he was shoved away. Scout reached to do nothing but scream when someone invisible grabbed him and held a knife to his throat. This invisible assailant let his cloak down, and-

"Mate", Sniper spoke softly, not looking at the gun pointed at him, but past it and at the BLU Spy, still cloaked as the RED Spy. Scout knew better than to speak now with a knife to his throat, so he settled with glaring at Sniper most disapprovingly. His eyes told him, _'what did I tell you.'_

Sniper pulled down the scarf from his face and he pulled his kukri to side. The BLU Spy held his teammates under knife and at gun point, and he didn't seem to even hear Sniper. 

"It's us", Sniper said. 

"It's us." 

Sniper lowered his kukri down. It wouldn't be the first, or even the fifth time, someone accidentally killed another in crossfire and sent their teammates to REspawn. But Sniper would hate to be the first to do it on purpose. And he was sure he'd be able to kill Spy before he reached to slice Scout's throat. 

"Spy", Sniper said. 

Spy snapped to reality and drew a shaky breath. He let his hold loosen around Scout, who then quickly manouvered himself away from Spy and behind Sniper. 

Sniper laid his hand on Spy's arm holding the gun. As he lowered it gently and carefully, he also reached to take Spy's mask off. His camouflage dropped. 

"What the hell, spook?!" Scout barked at him from behind the safety of Sniper's back. 

"Can't you recognize your own teammates?" 

Spy took a step back and mouthed words soundlessly. He looked suddenly very lost, alone. But that was gone in a matter of seconds, that vulnerability. The Spy wore his poker face, emotions all under lock and key behind his eyes. 

"Spy, mate-" Sniper started and reached his hand towards him, but Spy turned himself invisible and disappeared quickly from the scene. Scout growled after him. 

"That! That right there, Sniper, is our Spy losing his shit!" he muttered and stomped his foot, splashing the water. Sniper ignored him, but he couldn't ignore what was happening. 

Was Spy too deep? What had he got himself into? 

-

"I'm telling you, he could've killed us!" Scout loudly repeated in the coffee room later that night. The Engineer twins as well as the Pyro and the Medic were in the room at the moment. 

"I think you're taking this a little too seriously, Scout", the younger Engineer twin, who they called 'Slinger', tried to calm him down. The older twin, who they called 'Wrench', helped to remove Sling's mechanical right arm. 

"How could I NOT take it seriously! He held a knife on my throat, a gun at Sniper!" 

"All am saying is that he's probably having a rough time! We all know how frustrating this war can be at times", Slinger tried. 

"REspawn, back to the field. REspawn, back to the field. Sentry down, REspawn", Wrench mumbled and tilted his head from side to another. 

Scout threw his hands. 

"You are not getting it!" he growled at the Engineer twins, and at that moment Sniper stepped in the room. 

"Sniper, dude, tell them!" Scout turned towards Sniper. 

Sniper eyes him with a questionable look on his face. 

"The kid here is sayin' all this stuff about our Spy turning coats", Wrench explained with a small chuckle. He walked past Scout and Sniper to take the gunslinger to the workshop for maintenance. Medic left the room with him, not interested to get involved with the conversation. 

Sniper glared down at the Scout, very unsatisfied with his actions. 

"Ye really should learn when to keep yer wise lil' mouth shut", he murmured at him, Scout scoffed and folded his arms on his chest. 

Slinger stood up from the table and came over to Sniper and Scout. 

"Sniper, it's okay. An' Scout, please, don't lose faith in him. We are all only human, and we make mistakes. Spy might just need some time, an' frankly, friends", Slinger spoke out and gestured with his stump. 

"Bein' a Spy must be very lonely." 

Sniper rolled the toothpick to the left corner of his lips and bit on it. He could've been a better teammate to the Spy, to be honest. A better friend. 

"I've tried to get more acquainted with him, but he has a habit of pushin' people away. Maybe… He needs someone who is willin' to try harder than me." 

Sniper hummed, he knew what the Engineer meant. Slinger gave a dreamy little smile and walked past them. He turned to look over his shoulder and added: "An' Scout? Please, try to refrain from talking about this when Soldier is around. You know how he can get." 

Yes, indeed, the BLU Soldier could be a little… easily provoked. With that Engineer left the room. Sniper huffed and eyed Scout, who turned his back to him. Scout asked for Pyro to join him and they left, leaving only Sniper in the room. He understood where Scout was coming from, but Sniper wanted to believe in Spy. 

\-- 

"Spook. 'Ere you are."

"I wasn't exactly hiding." 

Sniper approached Spy, who was outside in the cold night air. He was sitting on the back of one of their pickup trucks. Sniper joined him, without asking permission. 

Spy offered him a cigarette, which the Sniper accepted. That was it. An apology, and forgiveness. Sniper was not going to interrogate him of what happened earlier. That kind of approach would only rip them apart, beyond repair. Right now Sniper wanted to be the friend he knew Spy needed. And hopefully wished for. 

They sat silently for a long time, maybe even for an hour or something. Silence was fine for them both. 

"I know what I did", said Spy suddenly. 

"And I think I've narrowed down the reason why it happened." 

Sniper didn't ask. He inhaled the last of the cigarette he had and flicked it to the ground to join the others. 

"The RED Spy, and Sniper, have messed with my head", Spy explained. He examined the cigarette between his fingers. 

"I didn't realize it… until I almost-" 

Sniper smacked the back of Spy's head. Spy bit his lip.

"Let's not hear more o' that", Sniper said. 

"You said they fucked with yer mind?" 

"Oui", said Spy; "RED Spy never happened to the same place as me. But Sniper was always there. He started addressing me as the RED one, talking to me. I think their goal was to make me lose my mind." 

"Well, mate, I'm glad ye figured it out", Sniper said and he stood up to stretch his limbs. He turned towards Spy and looked down at him. 

"You should probably lay low for a while. Let us handle the fighting, just until yer feeling better." 

Spy couldn't help a little smile. Sniper offered to pull him up, and Spy accepted it.

"Thank you, Sniper." 

* * *

Artfol - raydiamond

Instagram - raydiamond.art

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whenever REspawn is a thing in a story, it may have different ways to work and operate. I will be explaining the REspawn in each story. Sometimes, the story and universe doesn't include REspawn.  
> ~
> 
> In some cases, I will come up with names for characters, so they can be separated and recognized from the others. For example, if there's two RED Spies, I'll call them with different names to tell them apart.  
> Down here, I will list all the used names. In some cases I will refer to characters by cosmetics.  
> Will be updated when new names appear.
> 
> BLU Engineer, older twin - Wrench  
> BLU Engineer, younger twin (gunslinger) - Slinger
> 
> RED Spy, a homburg hat (Belgian detective) - Crooked Spy  
> RED Medic, a mask, scarred face - The Doctor


	2. All I Want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BLU Engineer and RED Spy have become friends, and are forced to meet in secret. Their situation gets complicated when new Spy and Medic are recruited in RED.

** Cw: harsh gore, detailed describing of wounds **

Mountain Lab

* * *

RED team had barely reached to even unload their trucks when they had to welcome new members to the team. The REDs had suffered more defeats than wins, and it seemed their employer  _ really _ needed them to win. So, he had decided to recruit new people, it seemed. 

There was a new Medic, a little older than the last, and apparently with more medical experience. He wore a mask over his scarred face, he wore glasses and his hair and facial hair were already grey. He demanded to be called,  _ Doctor _ , so he'd be able to tell himself apart when someone called for Medic. This irritated Medic, who, even though younger, still had more experience on a battlefield than this,  _ Doctor _ . This Doctor clearly knew his own worth, and manipulating others into thinking that he was better than Medic seemed to be a goal of his. 

The RED Spy could relate to Medic's feelings; there was a new Spy as well. He was a tall, slim man, with a homburg hat and a pipe. Spy didn't like the look on his face, that crooked smile and sharp eyes didn't sit right with him.  _ Crooked _ was a perfect word to describe him. 

Spy groaned to himself and left the dining hall, without greeting the newcomers. He had places to be. 

-

Spy moved quickly and silently, he was under the effect of his invisibility cloak. Making his way away from the Mountain Lab REDs were currently defending, RED Spy slipped over to the BLU side. It was dark, some of the BLUs were probably off to bed by now. Which was preferable, of course. 

Spy walked past the excuse-of-a-base and approached a little shack, which was the workshop of the BLUs. Upon coming closer to the workshop Spy was able to hear the soft fiddling of a guitar. 

BLU Engineer was sitting on the sentry box, leg crossed over another and guitar laid on his lap. The dispenser sat in the corner, humming softly. The teleporter was not in use at the moment, the other end was still not installed. The BLUs had arrived at the place a little later than the RED, but Engineer always came extra prepared and extra determined. Spy could almost bet that he had been working on his machines the whole day. 

The door to the workshop opened, drawing Engineer's attention. But no one was at the door. 

_ H'lo _ , Engineer called. The door closed, and Spy dropped his cloak. Engineer smiled wide and set the guitar aside. He stood up and approached Spy, wrapping his arms around him. Spy returned the embrace, greeting Engineer like the old friend he was. It was sad that they had to do this in secret, Engineer would love nothing more than to see Spy whenever he wanted. But they remained divided by, _what_? Some primary colors? 

Spy and Engineer sat for hours, talking and playing guitar to the late hours of night. They could talk about everything, but they never discussed the war. They never wondered about their employers or who the announcing voice belonged to. They never brought up the REspawn and the insecurities it brought up. 

A couple of beers between dear friends and both of them forgot about the whole war for a moment. Sometimes Spy thought that these moments were the motivation for him to keep on fighting. Maybe someday he doesn't have to sneak around to meet with Engineer. 

Wishful thinking. 

-

During the following week, the BLU won Mountain Lab from RED, forcing them out. Settling in to the Lab for the next few days before having to move out to the next area, the BLUs were celebrating yet another victory. Because the fight for the Lab was over, the REspawn system had been turned off for now. A system like that required a lot of energy, and materials like Australium, so it couldn't be turned on all the time. The system also worked only on certain areas. 

While the others were drinking and celebrating up in the Lab, Engineer was still down in their original base, packing up his workshop and collecting goods he could use in building stuff. He was about to leave, when his attention was drawn to the air boat, which stood untouched at the back of the base. It had been there when they arrived, and it was barely usable when they had tried it. With a little bit of work it could've been like new. But there was no use for it. Why wouldn't Engineer want to put it to pieces and salvage what he can? It won't serve anyone here, anyway. 

Engineer set down what he had, except for the tool kit, and he came over to the air boat. The propeller was quite a beauty, Engineer would certainly want to salvage that. But first things first - he made sure the watercraft wouldn't slice his hand off, even if the odds were minimal. He climbed over to the boat to make sure it wouldn't go on accidentally. After that he climbed back down and he reached inside the safety cage.  _ Safety cage _ , he thought,  _ not very safe with such neglected safety measures, a cage should be more than just a few metal poles here and there.  _ Anyway, he'd be putting it to pieces. No one's life was going to be endangered because of the poorly executed safety measures. 

For a while Engineer worked on removing the propellers, it was a little hard and required patience and dedication, but he managed to get one free sooner than he expected. He pulled the propeller out of the cage and set it down beside him. Then he pulled back inside the cage to release another one. There were three of them in total. He let a few swear words slip his tongue, this one was tougher than the last. A little out of breath Engineer let his hands down and gathered himself for a moment. His eyes wandered, and stopped to stare at the switch on the back of the boat, which he was sure he had turned off. 

Right? He  _ had _ turned it  _ off _ , hadn't he? 

The next few seconds happened quickly. There was a  _ 'click' _ , the engine started humming, and the propellers twitched. Now, Engineer would lose his head if he didn't pull back, like,  **_right now._ ** He pulled back, avoiding from getting decapitated. But his right arm got stuck in between the machinery, the sharp propeller striking through his skin and flesh to his bone. 

Engineer tugged on his arm, his brain hadn't quite registered what had happened yet. There was a lot of blood. 

The engine kept humming, but the propellers weren't working properly. Still, with every passing second the pressure grew, trapping Engineer's arm even harder. 

The skin on his arm rolled over, Engineer was bleeding fast and his mind was finally catching up on what was happening. His arm had gone numb, he was in an awful lot of pain but couldn't shout or scream or cry. 

Dear God. Let it be over. 

-

The RED team was packing up what they had managed to save before the BLUs took over the Lab, and were ready to move out to the next destination. But Spy wouldn't be leaving yet. He wanted to see Engineer before he'd leave. Who knows how long it'll take until they'd be able to see each other again? 

So, he made his way up to the Lab. He looked for Engineer there, but not seeing him with the others he figured that Engineer must be in the workshop. That was his next destination. But upon closing in on the base, an awfully nauseous feeling crawled its way into Spy's stomach. Was he getting sick? Had he been eating properly and drinking enough water? 

A scent with a whiff of iron forced itself up Spy's nostrils, and in his profession one knew what blood smelled like. His heart dropped and throat got clogged. 

Spy found Engineer trapped by the propeller. The man was hardly awake, but upon setting his glassed eyes on the Spy Engineer smiled. Spy felt a stab in his heart. He helped Engineer free from the death trap, telling him to ' _ stay awake, don't leave me. _ ' 

Spy couldn't look at the torn, broken arm of his friend. It was disfigured, ruined. Spy had to work fast and have a clear mind if he wanted to save Engineer's life. First he proceeded to tie his tie as tightly as he could above the wound on Engineer's arm, hoping to slow down the bleeding. Then h e disguised himself as the BLU Spy and helped Engineer all the way up to the Lab. 

When they finally reached the Lab, Engineer was hardly lifting up his legs anymore. Spy was getting tired, he wasn't strong enough to carry a dead man's weight alone. He called for help all the way inside the Lab, finally being heard by the BLU Medic. He came rushing over and helped Spy take Engineer to the med bay. 

Once they got Engineer to the med bay and on the operating table, BLU Medic gave instructions to Spy (still camouflaged as the BLU one). He would be helping him save Engineer's life. 

While preparing all tools and turning on the medigun attached to the roof, Medic explained Spy that the REspawn system was off, and they couldn't let Engineer die. He was very straightforward with his words, and said that Engineer's arm had to be amputated. 

Spy tried to follow his instructions, shaken and afraid he was having a hard time trying to keep up. He couldn't loose Engineer, who was his only true friend. Spy held his healthy left hand, squeezing it against his chest. Engineer moaned incoherently, unaware of everything else other than Spy.

Spy happened to raise his eyes up from Engineer, and he saw the real, actual BLU Spy standing by the door to the med bay. Medic was far too busy to pay attention at the moment. BLU Spy stared at the RED one, who was still disguised as him, and for a second RED Spy was sure the BLU one would give him up. But instead of calling him out and exposing him, BLU Spy looked at the impostor and Engineer. He frowned, but took a step back and turned invisible. 

RED was thankful to him, even though he had just exposed the secret he and Engineer had. That was the least of their problems at the moment though, Spy hoped his BLU counterpart wouldn't expose him later. But, as long as Engineer survived, Spy didn't care. He just needed Engineer to survive. 

All the racket and blood was drawing BLUs attention, and soon BLU Sniper and Heavy - if Medic and Spy weren't count, the only ones still sober - appeared at the bay. Medic told Spy to leave, he wasn't in a state to help him. He instructed Heavy to hold Engineer still and Sniper to stand ready with some tools as Medic prepared to saw Engineer's arm off. 

Spy left the med bay, shaken and afraid. He had blood all over his suit, his face was covered in cold sweat and his throat felt clogged. He walked towards the entrance to the Lab and sat down on the back of a pickup truck that was parked there. He was still camouflaged as the BLU counterpart. 

Spy heard the sound of invisibility cloak being dropped, and the real BLU Spy walked over to the truck. He stood before RED, who wasn't facing him. He didn't seem to care. His eyes teary the RED Spy choked back a sob.

RED hummed in a questionable manner as BLU offered his cigarette carton towards him. This little act of kindness and concern touched RED, especially since it came from a BLU. He accepted a smoke, and the two Spies sat on the back of the truck, smoking and sitting silently. 

-

Gravel Pit, a week later. 

RED Spy finally found some time to check on BLU Engineer. He had been in contact with his BLU counterpart, who he had learned to trust and value as a new friend. 

He once again made his way over to the BLU side. BLU Spy had told him to look for them outside the base, he had heard the night skies were breathtaking at these parts. 

Soon Spy found his way over to a pickup truck some distance away from the BLU base, out of direct sight. It was parked on a small hill, a little campfire was set up on the ground. Spy was so used to hearing the fiddling of a guitar, the silence tore his soul. 

He let his cloak fall as he came to the back, where both Engineer and BLU Spy were. RED Spy was greeted with Engineer's usual smile, so warm and dreamy. Engineer stepped down from the back of the truck to embrace RED Spy, who didn't hesitate to hug him back. Upon separating, Spy softly held Engineer's right arm- or what was left of it. The arm ended a little below his elbow, and even though it looked very good and healthy now, the memories of the torn arm still gnawed on the back of Spy's mind. REspawn hadn't brought his arm back, because the damage was done and treated when the REspawn systems were off. It didn't register the lack of his arm as a wound anymore.

Engineer hummed softly and patted Spy's shoulder.  _ I'll be fine _ , he told him. Spy trusted him, but he still felt sorry for him. Engineer stepped aside and let BLU step forward. He offered his RED counterpart a bottle of beer, which RED accepted with a friendly smile. For the next following hours, the three friends sat under the sky of stars and enjoyed the time they could spend together. They didn't worry over the war, or the different colors they wore. 

They were just three friends, enjoying the time they had together.

  
  


Still, the question about the air boat being turned on kept gnawing them all. How did it happen? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whenever REspawn is a thing in a story, it may have different ways to work and operate. I will be explaining the REspawn in each story. Sometimes, the story and universe doesn't include REspawn.  
> ~
> 
> In some cases, I will come up with names for characters, so they can be separated and recognized from the others. For example, if there's two RED Spies, I'll call them with different names to tell them apart.  
> Down here, I will list all the used names. In some cases I will refer to characters by cosmetics.  
> Will be updated when new names appear.
> 
> BLU Engineer, older twin - Wrench  
> BLU Engineer, younger twin (gunslinger) - Slinger
> 
> RED Spy, a homburg hat (Belgian detective) - Crooked Spy  
> RED Medic, a mask, scarred face - The Doctor


	3. And, action! Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The actors of Team Fortress 2 and the production team are interviewed about their life in the making of 'Team Fortress 2'.  
> Actor AU, loosely based on the actual, canonical game characters.

_ Heavy walks over in front of the camera. He places the minigun on a cardboard box and sits down on a chair.  _

**Heavy** : I am Heavy Weapons Guy… and this [ **grabs minigun** ] is my weapon. She weighs one hundred fifty kilograms and …

**Heavy** : And I forgot my line! 

_The shooting crew start laughing._ _Someone comes over to give Heavy script to look at._

_ And, action!  _

-

_ The actors **Mikhail (Heavy)** , **Jane (Soldier)** and **Tavish (Demoman)** are welcomed to the interview. They sit next to each other in the listed order.  _

**Demoman** : What's funny to me about playing my character, is that Demoman is always drunk. I am an absolutist, so I don't know what it's like to be drunk. 

**Soldier** : Yet you do it so good! 

**Heavy** : [chuckles] 

**Demoman** : I never thought that for a role, I'd have to do research on how drunken people behave! I have been acting a lot, but this role truly is something special. 

**Soldier** : What I find funny in my role, is probably the lack of brains. Soldier is so carefree and idiotic, that sometimes I act him, like-

**Heavy** : Too smart? 

**Demoman** : [laughs and slaps his legs] 

**Soldier** : [chuckles] Yeah, and like, I hold myself back. It's not easy to play him. 

**Heavy** : I love my character. And since I am Russian myself, I don't even have to fake his accent. 

**Demoman** : [bends a little over his legs and reaches to tap Heavy's legs] You ruin most of our shots.

**Heavy** : [laughs loudly] Yes yes I do! I can't hold my poker face! 

-

**Q** : Let's discuss fans and the fan community. Demoman and Soldier, you're one of the fan ship favourites. How does that affect you? 

[Soldier and Demoman look at each other, Demo leans over to rest his head on Soldier's shoulder.]

**Soldier** : I am honored by that, truly. It makes me feel that, I have done my job well. That we have created such a bond that gives people feelings and makes them want us to have a happy ending. [Gives Demo pats on his cheek]

**Demoman** : [smirks and sits up] It doesn't bother me. I think it doesn't affect our friendship. I love Solly, but not in a romantic way. And I am so glad that fans understand that and honor it. I don't mind my character being paired with another.

**Soldier** : I ship Heavy and Medic. [points at Heavy with his thumb] 

  
  


**Q** : Mikhail, speaking of which: how does that affect you and your personal life and relationship? 

**Heavy** : Fans are being very polite and respectful. I know how big of a thing Heavy and Medic pair is, I have access to the internet! 

[spreads his hands a little and laughs] 

And I don't mind keeping up that image of Heavy and Medic being close like that. It's acting, and Ludwig is such a sweet person and amazing actor. I feel privileged to be working with him so much and so closely. He has taught me a lot about acting. I don't personally think what happens in the series really affects my relationship with Royce. If anything, it's made us stronger. 

**Demoman** : You knew him from before Team Fortress, right? 

**Heavy** : Yes, yes I did! We were both in this short TV series 10 years ago, and we became friends. Even if we started properly seeing each other after Team Fortress started shooting, it feels like we have always been together. 

**Soldier** : You've known him for a longer time, it helps building up a relationship. 

**Heavy** : Yeah, it does.

-

**Demoman** : Whenever we get new scripts, there's hardly ever anything for me. I get to improvise most of what I do or say, which at times is hard, but sometimes the best things have come from that. 

**Soldier** : Editing also adds bleeps on your lines sometimes. 

**Demoman** : Yeah! People think it's because I'm swearing, but I'm not. 

**Soldier** : My lines are written down only in my script, everyone else's scripts just say when it's my turn. So the reactions to my crazy remarks are real.

**Demoman** : And, like we said earlier, Misha keeps ruining shots because whatever Solly says is so funny to him. 

**Heavy** : [laughs] 

**Heavy** : I get to carry lunch with me while filming and I get to eat then whenever I want. 

**Demoman** : We might be in the middle of a serious scene, and this mate just pulls out a sandwich, or a banana. 

**Soldier** : But it's only fair. 

**Heavy** : I have diabetes, and the writers got creative. 

  
\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whenever REspawn is a thing in a story, it may have different ways to work and operate. I will be explaining the REspawn in each story. Sometimes, the story and universe doesn't include REspawn.  
> ~
> 
> In some cases, I will come up with names for characters, so they can be separated and recognized from the others. For example, if there's two RED Spies, I'll call them with different names to tell them apart.  
> Down here, I will list all the used names. In some cases I will refer to characters by cosmetics.  
> Will be updated when new names appear.
> 
> BLU Engineer, older twin - Wrench  
> BLU Engineer, younger twin (gunslinger) - Slinger
> 
> RED Spy, a homburg hat (Belgian detective) - Crooked Spy  
> RED Medic, a mask, scarred face - The Doctor


	4. En route to Viaduct

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BLU Medic and RED Heavy seek shelter from an awful snow storm.  
> ~  
> ~  
> Update - A fanart added to chaper 1: Seeing RED, Feeling BLU (by yours truly)

An awful snow storm had sneaked up on the mercenaries while en route to Viaduct. One could hardly see in front of themselves in that storm. 

Transportation was impossible in that weather. More than one car had got wrecked, including the BLU Medic's car. He had also got himself pretty hurt, and his medigun had suffered damage beyond his fixing abilities. His left arm had hurt badly, Medic didn't think it was broken, but it hurt nevertheless. His face was on bruises and cuts, and it was cold and hard to move in all the snow. 

It was either that he stayed in the freezing car and waited for help, which could never find him, 

Or

That he went to look for help himself. 

He was wounded, and walking in that heavy snow in such weather wasn't wise. But Medic wasn't the type to sit still and wait, he'd die anyway if help never reached him in time. So, he decided to try his luck outside. Gladly he remembered to wear a little warmer clothes. 

  
  


X

  
  


He didn't know how long he had been walking in the thick, heavy snow. Medic was growing exhausted, and his sight was getting darker. It had started to hurt to walk, the cold was giving him a headache. 

He started stumbling in his steps. The amputator he had gave him but little comfort, he'd be unable to defend himself in this state. 

Medic stopped to take a breather. He tried to move his left arm, but couldn't do that without hurting himself. Maybe it was broken after all, he thought. The snowstorm had become more fierce, the raging snow felt like razors against Medic's face. 

Medic's heart skipped a beat when he heard someone load a shotgun. He turned his eyes the way it came from, but couldn't see anything. He breathed deep and slow, was this his end? He didn't even dare to wish for it to be a teammate. 

The storm gave in just enough for Medic to see who was opposing him. It was the RED Heavy, his shotgun pointed at the BLU Medic. Well,  _ Scheiße _ . Medic didn't even try to threaten him with his saw. 

Heavy had his shotgun pointed towards Medic. The longer it took for him to pull the trigger, the more hesitant Heavy grew. 

Medic could barely make out Heavy's character anymore. The poor state of Medic didn't go unnoticed; Heavy decided finally to lower the gun. It was cease fire anyway, Heavy tried telling himself. The truth was that this specific Heavy didn't want to pull the trigger, not because of Medic being a BLU, but because he was a person- a living being. That kind of behavior and attitude didn't get him far, and if it wasn't for REspawn, he would've died on his first day for sure. 

Medic stared in Heavy's eyes, his sharp gaze feeling like stabs in Heavy's heart. Medic spoke something inaudible under his breath, and collapsed. Heavy, who hesitated another few seconds, ended up putting his gun away and he approached Medic. He managed the BLU Medic in his arms. 

It wasn't wise to help an enemy, but… Heavy couldn't leave him. He couldn't let him die. 

  
  


X

  
  


Medic was waking up. He felt warm, fuzzy. Medic narrowed his eyes open just enough to make out where he was. He was lying on the floor, a blanket- no, a jacket, on him, and a red scarf had been folded underneath his head. He was in a wooden shack of sorts. The crackling of fire wood sounded in the background. 

It didn't seem that he was in much of a peril. Medic huffed a little. He tried to sit up, finding it a little difficult. His whole body was aching, but at least he wasn't cold. Maybe he'd make it after all. 

When he sat up, Medic realized that his left arm had been tied with an arm sling. Well, with a very sorry attempt. But an attempt either way, and that told a lot about the person who saved his life. 

Medic was finally sitting up, and he took a better look around him. The cottage was small, with a bathroom separated with a curtain. There was the fireplace near Medic, and a small storage space and a kitchen. This cottage wasn't meant for a long-term stay. 

The door suddenly opened with a loud thud. The big, robust figure who struggled his way inside the cottage was none other than the RED Heavy himself. 

Every common person with basic survival instincts and common sense would've been cautious and alarmed when sharing a cottage with an enemy. But Medic wasn't that common, now was he? He wasn't a bit alarmed by Heavy's presence. If he had wanted to kill him, he would've done it already. Instead, he helped Medic to a safe place, and even attempted to bandage his arm. Even if it was a sorry attempt, Medic still appreciated the gesture. 

After he got the door closed, Heavy turned around and saw Medic. He looked surprised, maybe a little startled? 

"He-hey… How are you feeling?" Heavy asked him. 

Medic almost wanted to laugh, but didn't think it'd be appropriate. This was the first time Medic saw the RED Heavy like this- during truce, and without a minigun pointed at him. How was he so… Kind? 

"I-... I'm fine, danke", Medic answered him. He watched closely as Heavy picked up a crate he had with him. He walked over to the fireplace - a good distance away from Medic, just in case-, and placed the crate down there. He knelt down on one knee to unload the crate.

Medic noticed that Heavy was wearing just a dark red pullover. The jacket that he had been covered with, and the scarf under his head, were Heavy's. A common person would question his actions, ask him 'why'. But, once again, Medic wasn't a common person. 

Instead of questioning it, Medic appreciated the act. Heavy clearly didn't wish for him to die. 

"Danke", Medic said. Heavy looked at him. Medic stared into his eyes, his gaze not as sharp and piercing like it was before. 

"For… Saving my life." 

Heavy flashed him a soft little smile. 

"I couldn't leave you there", Heavy answered him. He and Medic stared at each other a couple seconds too long, Heavy ripped his eyes off of him to continue what he was doing. 

"Where did you find all that?" Medic asked him, nudging his head towards the foodstuff Heavy had brought in. Heavy straightened his back and licked his lips. He stopped to think for a moment, fishing words in his mind. 

"There is кладовая- a pantry, outside. I didn't know if I could take, but- there read Mann Co everywhere. So I…" Heavy explained, clearly struggling with translating a little. Medic hummed and nodded lightly. 

"So you figured it's okay to take it", Medic said. 

"Ja. I would've done the same." 

A short silence fell upon them. Medic corrected his position. 

"You did this?" Medic asked suddenly, gesturing at the sling. Heavy could see from his face that he wasn't impressed. 

Heavy smiled an embarrassed one. 

"That bad?" he asked. 

"Quite", Medic answered. 

"It has to be done like this", he continued and proceeded to wrap his arm correctly. Heavy approached closer, in case Medic needed help. He was wounded, after all. Heavy still kept a little distance, just in case. 

  
  


X

  
  


After a while, Heavy had prepared some hot stew. He and Medic barely talked, but it didn't seem to bother either of them. 

Because the electricity was down, Heavy had prepared the meal the old way- on the fireplace. As he was kneeling down to scoop them both some of that food, Medic could see a glimpse of a scar running across Heavy's head from under his team colored scarf. He didn't plan on asking about it, but depending on how long they have to spend time here, he as well might. 

The stew wasn't that bad, but with a pint of salt and some other spices it could've been better. Still, Medic didn't complain, he understood the situation and knew that he couldn't expect miracles. Even so, this food was by far the best he had had since he joined BLU. 

The two of them dined in silence, save for the few compliments about the stew and occasional remarks of the storm still raging outside. It was getting dark. 

  
  


X

  
  


Medic woke up before Heavy did. He didn't want to live off by Heavy's goodwill alone, so he decided he'd do something in return. Heavy did save his life, after all. Medic sat up and stroked the large jacket Heavy had lent him as a blanket. He was thankful for it, Medic hadn't been freezing because of that. He still felt bad for taking it, even though Heavy had told him he was okay. Nevertheless, Medic placed the jacket on Heavy as he was getting up. 

There wasn't much to do, other than maybe brew some coffee. Heavy had brought in a pack from the pantry, so Medic could as well do that. 

Heavy was in sound sleep, he didn't even flinch when Medic dropped the metallic jug he'd boil the coffee in. Well, the storm was still raging, howling in the shack and shaking the walls. No wonder he didn't wake up. 

It took its time, but Medic managed to boil the water and make decent coffee. Heavy seemed to have woken up to the smell. Heavy sat up and stretched a little, hard floor wasn't an ergonomic place to sleep on. He stroked back his head, removing the scarf he had and scratching from under it. Medic could see the scar better now. 

A long scar ran across Heavy's head, splitting two ways on the back. It started a little above his left eyebrow and ended on the back of his head. Now that Medic paid attention to his face, he could see a cut running across Heavy's lips too. 

"What happened to you?" Medic asked. 

Heavy hummed facing him. Medic gestured with his finger, drawing a line over his head. 

"What happened?" 

Heavy fiddled with his hands, tugging softly on the scarf. Medic realized he might've crossed his line there, he was going to apologize for his bluntness when Heavy answered him: "I… I died."

Well, Medic didn't expect that. Medic took a more comfortable position, he crossed his legs and set his healthy hand on his lap. His eyes rested on Heavy and his figure. 

"Before RED. I was in an accident. I died. Can't remember much…" Heavy explained to him, his eyes wandering from Medic. He barely faced him when he continued: "I- forgot most of my English. And… I was sent here. Outside war, I am still dead."

Medic was able to connect the dots himself. So, whoever brought Heavy back to life was either working for RED, or he sold this poor man as a soldier. Medic didn't expect to hear that kind of a story. One didn't even consider something like that when running away from his mini-gun. 

Medic nodded. He turned to the jug and poured some coffee to a cup, which he then reached for Heavy. Heavy thanked him in Russian and Medic answered him in German. 

"What are you planning to do, if we ever get to leave this war?" Medic asked Heavy after pouring himself a cup of coffee. He softly blew on it before trying how it tasted. It was awful. 

"I… I don't know", Heavy answered miserably. 

"Every time REspawn takes me, I fear I won't return. I don't want to die here. But there is nothing for me outside", Heavy replied, surprising even himself how freely he was talking with the BLU. He felt comfortable, maybe even safe with him. Medic wouldn't admit it, but he did too. 

"There's always something", Medic stated and smiled a little for Heavy. 

"You have a freedom to choose for yourself now, mein freund. You can be and do whatever you desire." 

Heavy hummed and nodded his head. He'd take Medic's words to consideration for sure. He tasted the coffee as well, but as the kind of person he was he tried his best not to show how awful it tasted. Medic eyed him and chuckled. 

"It's awful, I know!" he gave a snort and Heavy grinned in an apologetic manner. 

They didn't say it out loud, but both of them thought, at some point, that it was rather sad that they were on different sides. There was a connection, and they could've even become good friends. 

Would it still be impossible? Even if they were on opposing teams? 

  
  


X

  
  


The storm had finally given up, but the cottage was pretty much buried under snow. Heavy was trying to work on getting the door open, but it was no use. The door opened outwards, and it was impossible to open it with all the heavy snow blocking it. 

Medic felt useless and it made him mad. He tried opening windows and checking the kitchen and bathroom, if there was any way they could slip out through there, but no use. They were back to the waiting game. 

After a little more time, a couple of hours or so, the pair could hear voices from outside. They couldn't know who it was, and by instinct they grabbed their weapons. Heavy still had his shotgun, and Medic grabbed his amputator. It wouldn't be much of use against guns, but it was all he had. Heavy, not a doubt in his mind, set himself slightly in front of Medic, guarding him. Medic didn't miss that detail. 

The muffled sound of a flamethrower sounded from outside as the snow in front of the door was being melted. Okay, this was it. Both Heavy and Medic prepared for anything. 

The door opened. 

"Oh, but of it isn't our Heavy?" spoke the honeyed voice of RED Spy. He waltzed in with RED Sniper and Pyro behind him. 

"And what a surprise! BLU Medic is here too!" 

Spy walked towards Heavy and Medic, paying no mind to the teammate, with his arms spread to sides. When he was too near for Heavy's liking, the bigger man moved himself in between Medic and Spy. 

Spy shot a sharp glare at Heavy, who looked intimidated but stood his ground. Spy gazed at Pyro and Sniper behind him before he took a walk around the shack. He paid close attention to everything. 

"You've had, ah, quite a camp here?" Spy asked with a ring to his tone. He knocked the empty coffee cup over with his shoe. He walked back to Sniper and Pyro. 

"Let doctor go", spoke Heavy then, taking Spy by surprise. Medic held his amputator tightly, he'd not hesitate to use it, should it come to that. 

"Let go? Now, monsieur Heavy, why would we do that? He, as much as I recall, is an enemy. Unless you've gone colorblind on this little escapism of yours, you'd know better not to be friends with the enemy." 

"He's wounded-" Heavy begged; "A-and it's cease fire-" 

"Heavy,  _ mon chéri _ , why should that move me? Any of us? He'd be sent to REspawn! Or, if it be that REspawn won't bring him back, then they'd just recruit a new BLU Medic for you to befriend!" Spy growled and dug up his cigarettes from his jacket pocket. He was offered a lighter from Pyro, which he gladly accepted. 

Medic felt his blood boil. He himself wasn't that social or close with his own teammates, but the way Spy talked down on Heavy like that was just wrong. Medic gazed at Heavy, who seemed to just take it all. But he was unwavering about protecting him. For that, too, Medic was grateful. 

"Cut it out, mate", Sniper spoke then. 

"Let 'im go. He can try 'is luck outside", he continued. To him Spy was more of a,  _ bark but no bite _ kind of person, and he didn't let him talk big to him. 

Spy huffed through his nose, biting on the cigarette. He looked back at Sniper, then at Heavy and Medic. He sneered: "Well, he wouldn't get far with broken arm and-" 

"If I were ye, I'd consider me next move very carefully", said a voice from the door. 

"Ye listen to 'im, 'is trigger finger is quite sensitive!" spoke another. 

Spy gave a long, frustrated sigh. 

"Well, if it isn't the irksome Engineer twins", he growled and turned to face the BLU Engineer Twins. The first one who spoke, younger twin Slinger, held the gun in his robotic hand. The older twin Wrench gave a nudge with his head; "Don't tempt us, Spah! Now, step aside an' let the Medic go!" 

"What makes you think we will just let you slip through our fingers? There's 4 of us, against one wounded Medic and two petite Engineers!" Spy cackled. 

"What makes ye think we came alone?" asked Wrench. 

'Krhm!' someone cleared their throat. The BLU Spy materialized next to the RED one, his gun pointed at his head. RED Spy chuckled to himself: "Ah, I thought I heard a rat." 

The BLU Spy laughed through his nose. About the same time BLU Soldier appeared from the door, shouting something about 'maggots' and 'blowing the shack up'. 

The RED Spy sighed deep. He rolled his eyes and gestured with his hands of his defeat. 

"Well, I guess we are off then, gentlemen", the RED Spy hummed and glared at Heavy and Medic's way. RED Pyro and Sniper slipped from the doorway, being glared at by Soldier and held at gunpoint by older Engineer twin. Spy followed them outside. 

It was time for Heavy to depart. He looked over his shoulder at Medic, who looked back into his eyes. 

"мерси́", Heavy spoke silently before being rushed by BLU Soldier. BLU Spy came over to Medic, asking him if he was okay. 

Medic answered him something like, 'yes quite', not paying attention to him but to Heavy, who had saved his life and was now forced to join his teammates who didn't seem to want him around. Medic watched as Heavy disappeared through the doorway, outside to the biting winter air. 

* * *

Artfol - raydiamond

Instagram - raydiamond.art

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whenever REspawn is a thing in a story, it may have different ways to work and operate. I will be explaining the REspawn in each story. Sometimes, the story and universe doesn't include REspawn.  
> ~
> 
> In some cases, I will come up with names for characters, so they can be separated and recognized from the others. For example, if there's two RED Spies, I'll call them with different names to tell them apart.  
> Down here, I will list all the used names. In some cases I will refer to characters by cosmetics.  
> Will be updated when new names appear.
> 
> BLU Engineer, older twin - Wrench  
> BLU Engineer, younger twin (gunslinger) - Slinger
> 
> RED Spy, a homburg hat (Belgian detective) - Crooked Spy  
> RED Medic, a mask, scarred face - The Doctor


	5. And, action! Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The actors of Team Fortress 2 and the production team are interviewed about their life in the making of 'Team Fortress 2'.  
> Actor AU, loosely based on the actual, canonical game characters.

_The actors_ ** _Dell (Engineer),_** **_Jeremy (Scout)_** _and_ ** _Mundy (Sniper)_** _have been welcomed to the interview. They are sitting in the listed order. Meet the Engineer is rolling. After it's ended, Mundy reaches a guitar from his side over to Dell on the other end._

**Engineer** : [adjusts the guitar better on his lap, so he's able to play with his prosthesis arm. He starts playing the song from the video. He plays masterfully.]

Hey look, buddy. I'm an engineer, that means I solve problems. 

[Actors chuckle, Scout and Sniper start clapping. Engineer sets the guitar down.]

  
  


**Engineer** : After filmin' my Meet The Video, an' the pilot, I was in an accident that cost me my arm. I was sure I'd be recast, because… Well, me character was supposed to have two workin' arms, and we hadn't reached to shoot too much yet. It was a bad spot for me, at the time. I was a carpenter, and after the accident I couldn't do that either. 

**Scout** : We couldn't lose Dell, he was the heart of the group. 

**Sniper** : We all went to see him after he had woken up, and when he brought up the recasting, our director announced that that wouldn't happen. 

**Engineer** : I couldn't understand how he'd make it work. But after I was out of hospital, an' returned to the studio, I was handed a script about how my character loses his arm. He's an engineer, so he's just goin' to build himself a new one. 

**Sniper** : The director also provided Dell a couple of actual prostheses for his everyday life. 

**Engineer** : I can't even express how grateful I am to him, to the whole Team Fortress team. They are me family.

  
  


**Sniper** : I am a stunt man, and before Team Fortress I hadn't really done any proper acting. 

**Scout** : And you were cast as Spy first. 

**Sniper** : Yeah, I was the Spy first. Helen is a friend of mine and she got me the role. Though, after the first rehearsals, Hale said that me and Royce should try to swap our roles. That's how I landed as Sniper, and he Spy. Tho, I am still doin' stunts for both. 

**Scout** : I am a stand-up comedian. I have never done any acting in my entire life. I caught the director's eye when I did an impersonation of the TF Classics. 

**Engineer** : You almost didn't accept the role.

**Scout** : [laughs] I almost didn't! I thought he was crazy! Growing up, TF Classic was my childhood and it holds so much value to me. I didn't think I could do justice to the franchise and the fans. 

  
  


-

  
  


**Q** : Are any of you familiar with the fan characters, 'Freak Fortress'? 

[Engineer chuckles, Scout looks a little doubtful] 

**Engineer** : I dunno much, but I've heard of 'em. I don't really follow up on those things. 

**Sniper** : I gotta educate you about them [chuckles and folds arms on his chest] 

**Engineer** : I'm scared [laughs] 

**Scout** : The Freaks are… Well, fans are creative. 

**Engineer** : Hey, I do know about the Christian Brutal Sniper and Pure Spy! [reaches over to poke Sniper's shoulder] 

**Sniper** : Yeah, uuh, me and Royce got inspired by those two Freaks. We reached out for the creators of those characters, and we planned out a script for a short movie. 

**Scout** : It's freaking awesome, you should all watch it! [points towards the camera] 

  
  


-

  
  


**Q** : Out of all the actors, who would you nominate as the 'heart', 'joker' and 'parent'? 

**Scout** : Dell is the heart. 

**Engineer** : [chuckles and blushes] 

**Sniper** : Yeah, that one is easy. Because Jeremy is a comedian to start with, I won't nominate him as the clown. 

**Scout** : [fakes a pouty face] 

**Sniper** : It'd be Misha, I think. Or Tavish. 

**Engineer** : Royce is the parent. 

**Scout** : Or Billie. 

**Q** : Besides your own character, who is your favourite? 

**Scout** : Oh I absolutely love the Medic. 

**Engineer** : Soldier. 

**Sniper** : Probably Pyro, or Heavy.

Q: If you could choose any other class, who would you want to act? 

**Engineer** : Oh this is hard. 

**Sniper** : I think I'd say… Medic.

**Scout** : I'd want to be Spy. 

**Sniper** : You've got the family resemblance. 

**Scout** : [laughs] Fun fact! Royce is just 5 years older than me!

**Engineer** : I think I'd want to be Demo. 

//

Christian Brutal Sniper (c) [Kekas vas Normandy](https://www.youtube.com/user/KelThuzadMadness)

Christian Pure Spy (c) [mit-332 / ](https://mit-332.tumblr.com/)[W](https://www.youtube.com/user/WitchyAZ09) [itchy](https://www.youtube.com/user/WitchyAZ09) /[ Lemurfot](https://www.youtube.com/user/Lemurfot)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whenever REspawn is a thing in a story, it may have different ways to work and operate. I will be explaining the REspawn in each story. Sometimes, the story and universe doesn't include REspawn.  
> ~
> 
> In some cases, I will come up with names for characters, so they can be separated and recognized from the others. For example, if there's two RED Spies, I'll call them with different names to tell them apart.  
> Down here, I will list all the used names. In some cases I will refer to characters by cosmetics.  
> Will be updated when new names appear.
> 
> BLU Engineer, older twin - Wrench  
> BLU Engineer, younger twin (gunslinger) - Slinger
> 
> RED Spy, a homburg hat (Belgian detective) - Crooked Spy  
> RED Medic, a mask, scarred face - The Doctor


	6. All I Want - Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> RED Spy is concerned about the Doctor and Crooked Spy's behavior. He shares his thoughts with his friends, BLU Engineer and Spy. Soon, BLU Spy goes missing, and RED Medic has had it enough with the Doctor and Crooked Spy.

** Cw: harsh gore, detailed describing of wounds and surgery, use of drugs as tranquilizer, death of a character**

Gravel Pit

* * *

RED Medic was growing frustrated and impatient with the new Medic, _The Doctor_ , like he wanted to be referred to as. The man hadn't just stolen most of Medic's work space in the medical bay (wherever they were at the time), but he's also determined to replace him altogether. And the new RED Spy, who arrived with the _Doctor_ , was helping the _Doctor_ with all he could. 

The RED Spy and Medic often complained about them to each other. One time, their team's Heavy happened to hear them, and he approached them with concern. Not about their complaints, but about those two newcomers. This _Doctor_ and the Crooked Spy (a nickname Spy had given him) were making a lot of the REDs quite wary. 

It came to Spy and Medic's knowledge that those two new REDs were spending a lot of time together, and didn't really share anything with the rest of the team. Heavy had also been told by the Doctor that he'd need some, _enhancements_ , if RED had any means to win the war. 

Medic was furious. It was a whole different thing to attach the über in everyone's bodies, than to make unnecessary experiments, just for the fun and curiosity of it. They agreed to keep an eye on the two new REDs. 

-

  
  


Later the same day, Spy went to meet with the BLU Engineer and his BLU counterpart. They met in Engineer's workshop. 

Engineer had finally gotten a hang of playing the guitar with the mechanical arm he had built to replace his lost limb. For a while, the three friends were able to keep up idle chat and drink some beer, but soon enough RED Spy had to share the unsettling news he had of the _Doctor_ and Crooked Spy. 

BLU Spy wasn't surprised, really. He had been keeping his eyes on the two ever since they joined, and he had had a bad feeling about them both. Not because they were RED, but because there was something evil about them. Something very wrong. 

_Be as it may_ , Engineer started, _don't go against them alone_. 

He made the Spies promise it, but BLU wasn't able to keep that promise. But he didn't break that promise by his own free will. 

  
  


-

  
  


Came the time when the teams would leave Gravel Pit and travel to the next destination - Dustbowl. BLU Engineer, who was usually the last one to arrive, felt very heavy hearted. He hadn't seen Spy, who, like was his habit, was always one of the first ones to arrive and settle in. He couldn't find Spy or his luggage. 

Engineer tried to reason with himself; maybe Spy had things to attend to. They all had their personal lives outside of war, maybe he had something to do? Maybe he got lost on the trip? 

It was but a vain comfort, because when they started their first capture attempt, and Spy still hadn't arrived, Engineer felt his heart sink. When the moment came, RED Spy sought Engineer out, for he too had noticed something very unsettling. 

RED informed Engineer that during his stay at the new base, he had only seen either Doctor, or Crooked Spy. They barely left each other's side earlier, and now he only saw them individually. They also acted strange- more so than normally. Very secretive, and desired to be left alone. 

There was most certainly a connection with the absence of BLU Spy, and the odd behaviour of the two new RED ones. And that made Engineer very afraid. 

  
  


-

  
  


BLU Spy was staring up at the roof. He couldn't move or speak. He wasn't sure how long he had been like this, his consciousness comes and goes. Last thing he remembered was packing up his car to leave to Dustbowl. Then, darkness. Since then he had been here. 

He hadn't yet been as awake and aware as he was now, and finally he was able to make out who exactly was behind his kidnapping. 

There, on his left, stood the RED Spy- the new one. He was just as crooked from up close as he was from a distance. Crooked Spy looked down on him, with a smile as wrong as the person he was. 

Crooked Spy proceeded to tell BLU what was going on. BLU had, as he may have already noticed, been tranquilized with heavy medication, and tied up on an ambulance stretcher. He wouldn't be able to move or talk for hours from now. 

Their location was outside the reach of any REspawn machines, and they were far from any settlements or team bases. 

_No one would hear you scream_ , Crooked Spy tut tutted himself, _not that you'd be able to scream anyway_. 

BLU heard the door being used. A third person stepped in- the _Doctor_. He had a doctor's bag with him, which he set down on a table. After that he came to BLU's other side. Spy could only follow them with his eyes. 

The _Doctor_ cleared his throat and he started explaining BLU about what he had been researching, and what he was going to do with him. 

He started off by explaining about REspawn. He stated that REspawn worked only on limited times - during war time. Then he said that the reach of the REspawn is mostly limited to certain areas. Both of these things Spy knew already. 

But what he didn't expect was for Crooked Spy to confess that he was responsible for the loss of Engineer's arm. 

_I was there, investigating the enemy lines_ _when he arrived_ , he said. 

_The Engineer, on a silver platter! I couldn't let the opportunity pass me_. 

Back then it wasn't about the REspawn, but rather getting rid of a BLU mercenary. To kill like that- for sports, didn't sit well with Spy. He understood killing when it was for a job, but like that… just for the fun of it? And during cease fire, of all times!

Spy felt uncontrollable rage, which he couldn't express. No matter how hard he tried, the tranquilizer had made him numb. 

_And as it came to our knowledge, his arm remained severed_ , the Doctor continued and turned to his bag. He started digging something out of there, Spy couldn't see them but by the sound of it there were a lot of sharp objects. 

_We wanted to try this theory with more… intimate, transaction_. 

Dear God. 

  
  


-

  
  


Medic of the RED team had had it with this _Doctor_ and Crooked Spy. He decided he'd confront them about the issue of them treating their teammates like guinea pigs and trash. RED wouldn't be victorious if they continued to treat everyone else the way they did. 

He had tried to follow this _Doctor_ , when he left the base some hours ago, but lost him in the desert. Medic had been driving around the surrounding area, hoping to find any clue of his whereabouts. He couldn't be far, that much he could conclude. 

Medic hit the breaks when he took notice of a building some distance away. He hadn't noticed it before, because it blended in the background so well. 

No proper roads led there, but Medic was sure he could make out rather fresh tire marks on the dirt. Medic was on the move with a smaller car, because the Doctor had taken possession of the ambulance. Medic felt confident that he'd find that ambulance here. 

Medic drove the rough road over to the building, which looked like a mill from up close. It hadn't been in use for years, by the looks of it. Medic left the car a safe distance away - not too close so he wouldn't be heard arriving, and just close enough he'd reach to run there, should a reason for that come up… 

Medic grabbed the pistol he had in the glove compartment. He made sure it was loaded before he stepped out of the car. 

Medic made his way around the building in search of evidence of Doctor's whereabouts. He came to the back, where the ambulance was - just as he had expected. And to back up his theory, the car of Crooked Spy was there too. Medic was glad he took the gun with him. 

Medic proceeded inside the building. It wasn't big, so there wasn't much choice in where the couple was. Medic approached a door, where from behind he heard noises. Before he reached to open it though, he heard Doctor say, _fetch me another blood pack, will you_?, and the door opened. 

Crooked Spy was about to step out, but he stopped on his trail when he was face to face with Medic. He greeted the Medic, trying to distract him from all the blood on his suit by asking him pointless questions, to which Medic answered by forcing himself in the room. 

The sight was repulsive, horrible. 

In the middle of the small room was an ambulance stretcher, where BLU Spy had been strapped on. He was being healed by a portable medigun, to ensure he wouldn't die without Doctor's say-so. He was under the effect of some heavy drugs, Medic could smell it, and Doctor was practicing such atrocities on him that it made Medic feel sick and shameful of his profession. At this particular moment, Doctor was tampering with what seemed to be Spy's vocal cords. 

Medic asked Doctor and Crooked Spy, not what were they doing, but _what the hell was wrong with them._ Crooked Spy came back in the room and placed a hand on Medic's shoulder in an attempt to reason with him. Medic slapped it away and lifted up his gun. He pointed it at Crooked Spy, he was the biggest threat to him at the moment. 

This _Doctor_ began explaining Medic about his theory of a loophole in the REspawn and that he wanted to try and see how much they are able to bend that system. Maybe he could find something useful for the RED's cause. He also added that Medic shouldn't feel bad for the BLU Spy, he was an enemy in the end and Medic shouldn't care less if he made experiments on him. _Better him than any of us, right?_

_He is a living being_ , Medic growled like an angry dog, _you are a monster_. 

Yes, BLU Spy was an enemy, that much was true. But enemy or not, no one deserved to be butchered like that. 

Doctor lifted up his bloodied hands from working on Spy's throat. The BLU was awake for this, for God's sake! 

_If you desire to end his suffering, you can put a bullet in his head_ , Doctor offered Medic and gestured with his hands. He continued, _if not, please leave the building_. 

Medic hesitated. He could've just shot Crooked Spy, then Doctor. But that way he couldn't ensure BLU's safety - and he needed someone else to witness what he was witnessing. He needed someone else to know what was going on. And he wanted to save BLU Spy. He couldn't do this alone. 

Medic slipped out of the room, he needed to get help. 

  
  


-

  
  


Crooked Spy shared a lot of interests and opinions with Doctor. He looked up to him, _admired_ even. But he didn't agree on letting Medic go. 

Spy confronted him about his concern, that Medic would tell the others and they'd have to get rid of their little project. But Doctor didn't think it would be something to be worried about. 

Crooked Spy wasn't going to let it go. He tried telling Doctor that they should get rid of Medic, that his death could stay a secret. They were already keeping secrets, one murder on top of it all didn't weight a lot. 

But Doctor told Crooked not to make any hasty decisions. 

_Let's talk after this is over, ja? I'm almost finished here_ , said Doctor. Maybe Medic could still be of use to them, he added. Crooked snapped. He walked over to the portable medigun. 

Doctor lifted up his eyes from BLU. He questioned, _now Spy, don't do anything you'll regret_. 

Crooked Spy pressed the OFF button. Doctor howled, _no_!, and grabbed a scalpel. He pointed it towards Crooked, telling him to turn the medigun back on. Spy declined and pulled out his revolver. He loaded it and placed the pipe against BLU's temple. 

Crooked spoke in French, which Doctor didn't know a word about, _I hope you find peace where you're going._ Taking advantage of Crooked's distraction, Doctor acted on a whim. 

Doctor grabbed the scalpel tighter and reached over BLU to hit it towards Crooked Spy's neck. He decided he couldn't have weak pawns on his game board. 

Crooked saw him attack, and he managed to lift up his gun from BLU's head and shoot. Fortunately, his bullet scratched Doctor's side, wounding him. But unfortunately for him, the scalpel sank deep in his flesh, behind his collarbone. After that Doctor grabbed Crooked's gun and placed it aside. 

In BLU Spy's presence was happening a gruesome murder, and he couldn't do anything else than to watch and listen. His mind wasn't very clear at the moment, he was barely conscious, but he was awake enough to know what was happening. He wanted to help Crooked, but he couldn't. 

Crooked stumbled in his steps and he collapsed down on the floor. Doctor circled around the stretcher. He turned the medigun back on and knelt down in front of Crooked. 

_You're right,_ he whispered; _one more murder doesn't weight a lot._

The he proceeded to finish what he started. 

  
  


-

  
  


RED Spy had just returned from meeting with BLU Engineer, when he saw RED Medic drive up to their base. He was in a hurry, it seemed. Medic popped out of his car and yelled for Spy, he begged for his help. Spy took off running to his car and asked him what was going on. 

Medic quickly explained to him what he had seen and witnessed, and asked for Spy's help. He wanted to help BLU Spy and to expose what the new RED recruits had been doing behind their backs. Medic had Spy the moment he mentioned Doctor, Crooked and BLU Spy. 

_Take me there_ , Spy said, _make haste_!

  
  


-

  
  


Doctor whined and swore to himself as he bandaged the wound on his side. The bullet had just scratched him, but he was bleeding a lot either way. He could've used the medigun, but he needed all of its strength to treat BLU Spy. As a portable unit, it wasn't that as powerful as the one he had attached to the med bay's roof.. 

Crooked was dead. His body was crammed to a corner and Doctor had at least the bit of decency as to throw a cloth over his body. _What a mess_ , he thought. But it was nothing he couldn't handle, or hadn't done before. 

Doctor leaned back on his chair and he sighed deep. He was exhausted, such a hard operation, and an unfortunate turn of events, had left him spent and sore. He removed his glasses and mask from his scarred face and rubbed his eyes. 

He yawned and looked at BLU Spy, who was lying motionless on the operation table. Doctor had successfully ruined his vocal cords, and done his best to fix and heal the wounds. Now he'd only have to wait and see if the REspawn would bring them back. If his theory was correct, then Spy wouldn't regain what he's lost. That would also explain why BLU Engineer hadn't got his arm back. REspawn didn't register the wounded vocal cords as something to fix, if the wounds would already be healed. 

Doctor didn't really have time to rest. He had planned on removing Spy's other eye as well. 

He stood up and gave a glance at the corner where he had put Crooked. Ah, _Scheiße,_ he needed that blood pack Crooked never reached to fetch for him. So he stood up, put on his glasses and, giving just a glance BLU's way with a, _I'll be back in a moment_ , he left the room. He still had until tomorrow morning to come up with a story about Crooked's disappearance, or how he could blame his death on BLUs.

RED Medic and Spy had arrived to the mill, and they had managed to slip inside the building from a window. They saw Doctor leave the operating room, but Crooked's death still unknown to them Spy and Medic approached the room silently. They didn't expect to find Crooked dead in a corner. 

Medic felt kind of sad, or sorry, for the man. But Medic couldn't let it distract him from what they were here to do. They'd need to get the ambulance and bring BLU Spy to Medic's med bay. And if they had to kill Doctor in the process, they'd do it. The man was clearly mad, and had killed his partner for whatever reason.

RED Spy untied BLU from the stretcher. He could barely look upon his friend. Even though he was in a far better state compared to how RED had found Engineer some time ago, it still wasn't easy to see him hurt like this. It didn't pass Medic's attention how RED looked at BLU and treated him, but now wasn't the time to bring it up. They needed to get Spy out - _**now**_.

Still in heavy drugs, Medic told RED they'd push BLU out of here in the stretcher. They were from the ambulance, so they'd fit in the car. Medic also needed his hands free to use the medigun. He didn't know if he could fix the damage Doctor had inflicted on BLU, but he promised to try. Sending him to REspawn wasn't a choice, since it wasn't on. _Poor bastard, that Crooked_ , thought RED Spy. Maybe without this _Doctor_ he could've been a decent man.

They pushed the stretcher along the corridor and towards the front door. Both of them knew that they'd run into Doctor, and they both were ready to do what was necessary. A man like him was too powerful and mad to be left alive. They both knew it, even if they didn't want to admit it out loud. 

They rammed through the front door, taking Doctor by surprise. The ambulance was parked the way it's back was close to the door. Doctor was sitting inside the ambulance, his wound bleeding quite a lot. He was watching RED Medic and Spy with curiosity. 

_Maybe I should've listened to Spy and get rid of you when I had the chance_ , he muttered eyeing RED Medic. He struggled out from the back of the ambulance, Medic pulled out his pistol again. He walked in front of the stretcher, protecting BLU Spy with his body.

In just a few seconds reached to happen so much. 

First, Doctor pulled out the revolver he took from Crooked, and shot it toward Medic.

RED Spy pushed Medic out of the way, taking the bullet for him.

He dropped on the ground, presumably dead, to which RED Medic answered by shooting his pistol towards Doctor.

Doctor dodged the bullet. He shot towards Medic again, but he had run out of bullets. 

During the distraction, RED Spy let the effect of his Dead Ringer wear off. He appeared next to Doctor and shot a bullet through his head. 

-

RED Medic, Spy and BLU Spy arrived to the RED base. It was already getting dark, but no one would be sleeping at this time yet. There were risks in bringing BLU Spy to their base, but they had no time to waste. And RED Medic felt it was his responsibility to fix what Doctor and Crooked had wronged in RED's name. He didn't care what others would say - he would save this Spy and see him returned him to BLU base, safe and sound. 

As they had expected, soon everyone knew there was a BLU Spy in the RED base. While Medic worked his best to save his life, RED Spy gathered the rest of the team to tell them everything that had happened. To his relief, everyone seemed to accept what was happening. Engineer offered his help for Medic, while Soldier and Spy set out towards the BLU base to tell them what had become of their Spy.

Of course they weren't warmly welcomed to the BLU base, but after assuring them they weren't here to fight or hurt anyone, BLUs offered to take RED Spy and Soldier in for a peaceful consultation. 

What they told them was a lot to take in. There were some who doubted them, of course, but after talking and debating for some hours, they came to a peaceful outcome. BLU Medic offered to go with RED Spy and Soldier, so he could aid RED Medic in saving the life of a teammate. BLU Engineer set out with them as well. Before this, rather historical moment between these two specific teams of mercenaries, no one had even considered to think of an opposing team to be so... human. Just normal folk, like you and me. This whole chain of events was an eye opener for everyone. 

Why were they fighting? _What_ were they fighting over? 

-

After working for a few hard hours, BLU and RED Medics could finally say that they did all they could for BLU Spy. Uncertainty and disbelief filling everyone's hearts the BLUs returned to their base, expect for their Medic who stayed behind to treat their Spy. He was too weak to travel, even to the other side of the battlefield. The drugs needed to be filtered from his blood and he had to be monitored for some time more. They needed to be sure that what Doctor did to him was limited to the damage to his vocal cords only. 

-

Next morning. 

It was time for the second capture attempt, of the second phase. Usually at this hour guns were singing and screams and shouts filled the battlefield. But not today.

REDs were standing by the first point, armed but not prepared to fight. BLUs approached the battlefield cautiously, but still in good-nature. No one seemed to have any spirits to fight. What had happened had affected them all, one way or another. 

For a moment, the whole world stood still. 

RED Soldier broke the unnerving silence and dropped down his rocket launcher. Every RED followed his example. RED Spy felt overflowing happiness, his eyes might've even got a little teary. He had never dared to hope for this day to come. 

BLUs followed the example and dropped their weapons as well. Soldiers from both teams met in the middle, and they shook hands. This was to be a truce that would last. For them, the war was over. 

BLU Engineer fast paced towards the RED's side, and RED Spy met him halfway. They embraced, they held each other tightly and let the whole world just disappear. This was what they had wanted from the beginning. They got their share of strange looks and whispers, but that mattered not. Not anymore. They weren't separated by primary colors anymore. They had found their peace.

Every BLU and RED retired to the RED base, where BLU Spy was being treated by both Medics. Easier to others, harder for some, it took its time to get used to this new situation. But at the end of the day the team members seemed to get along quite fine. Watching them Spy could almost swear there hadn't been any war at all. 

BLU Spy was healing well. It would take its time for him to recover from the wounds - physical and mental - but he was welcomed to a new world where healing would be easier. Unfortunately, his vocal cords were beyond saving, and he wouldn't be able to produce words. Well, not at least the natural way. Engineers and Medics worked hard to build Spy something which with he could be able to produce voice again. 

For some weeks both teams stayed in Dustbowl. Soon enough they'd need to leave, though, food and other supplies were running low, and should any angry employers come looking for them, it'd be best for them all to just disappear from the face of the world. BLU and RED Spies as well as BLU Engineer set off together, briefly joined by RED Medic who they dropped off on their way to... well, they had to disappear. 

None of them knew what would happen next. They couldn't know what the voice in the megaphones would do to them, or what Mann CO would do, or what their employers would do. But they had all agreed to take the risk. They didn't even know what they were fighting over. If what they left behind was severed limbs, madness and unnatural tests about REspawn, then no one wanted any more blood on their hands. 

Yes, it'd take its time for everyone to get used to this, to start their lives anew without RED or BLU. But it would be worth it. They had been given another chance in life. 


	7. [ l'appel du vide ]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mercs find themselves in an impossible situation.  
> ~  
> ~  
> Suggesting ship: Freedom Fries (Soldier/Spy)

Soldier growled and threw his empty shotgun towards the horde of stumbling, but tirelessly moving living dead, who were closing in on them with quite a pace. Spy clenched the briefcase tightly against his chest, the humankind's future depended on it. 

They turned around a corner, at the end of it was an elevator. 

"Yes- **yes**! We are safe!" Spy was beaming. He rushed over to the door and tried to get it open. Soldier, who caught up with Spy, had to catch his breath. He looked at Spy, his comrade. His friend. His partner. He listened to the horde of living dead catching up on them. 

Spy got the doors open and he stepped in. 

"Come on, Soldier!" he hailed and turned to face him. Soldier looked back at him, silently and still. Spy's presence changed dramatically. 

"Soldier-" 

Soldier sighed and he pulled his sleeve up. _Goddammit. Shit! When was he bitten?!_

Soldier had an awful bite wound on his arm. Spy reached his hand towards him. 

"Soldier- come on-!" he demanded. 

"We- we have a cure- we can help you. **Soldier**!" 

Soldier stepped towards the elevator, but instead of stepping in, he shoved Spy further in. After that he pressed the button next to the elevator, it's doors starting to close. 

"Godspeed, you spook bastard", Soldier saluted him smiling, and the heavy elevator doors closed, leaving Soldier outside. 

" **NO!!** " 

Spy dropped the briefcase and rammed against the doors. He beat the doors, shouting Soldier's name over and over again. 

"Soldier!! S-Soldier-!!" 

He couldn't get the doors open. 

The voices he heard were so dreadful that Spy covered his ears and stepped backwards. Tears ran down his cheeks as he still continued calling to his friend. 

"Soldier!!" he sobbed loud. He dropped on his knees. The elevator nudged, the doors were being clawed. Spy pulled himself up from the floor to press a button--any button would do. 

After that he pulled the briefcase into his arms and held it against his chest, he took steps backwards until his back was against the wall. His legs gave up on him and he dropped down on the floor. 

Spy felt the elevator start to move. 

-

Time and space didn't exist to Spy at this moment. Spy was dissociating, unconsciously his mind was replaying all the memories of his teammates dying in front of him, sacrificing themselves for- what? This briefcase Spy was clenching on with all his life and strength? 

Spy's eyes felt swollen and aching from crying, his whole body felt numb. Spy was still sitting down against the back wall. His legs were bend up and the briefcase was tightly in his embrace. He felt pins and needles in his arms, they were growing numb. 

He didn't realize it when the elevator stopped, and the doors opened. It was silent, a little chilly too. 

" _Spy?"_

Spy didn't react. He didn't quite hear it, or maybe he just didn't care. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. 

" _Spy, please, answer me."_

" _Spy_!" 

  
  


Spy snapped awake. He lifted up his head. The doors of the elevator remained open, and in front of Spy had opened a black void, with just one, bright red door standing in the distance. 

Spy managed himself up, still clenching on the briefcase as he carefully stepped out of the elevator. 

" _Spy, dear God-_ " 

The voice belonged to a woman, but Spy didn't recognize it. 

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Spy growled with a demanding tone. 

" _You know me, but can't remember me-"_

"You're lying. Where are you?" 

" _Listen to me. Spy, you're in a virtual reality._ " 

"Bullshit."

" _The reason you can't see me is because I am talking to you via the console. I do not exist in that world_."

"I watched my friends die. Get bitten, turn. Be torn to pieces. All because of this, **_cure_ **, we have been told to retrieve!" 

" _Yeah? Spy, who told you_?" 

Spy opened his mouth to answer, but… Who? Who told them? Spy couldn't recall. He let his hold on the briefcase loosen a little. He should remember, right?

" _Open the briefcase, Spy. You'll believe me then…_ "

Spy was hesitant. He didn't know what he should believe, as far as he knew this could be him hallucinating. Maybe he was dead too. But, then again, what did he have to lose? 

Spy knelt down on one knee and set the briefcase down. After examining it, he said: "It needs a number combination."

" _It doesn't matter, it's not real. I dunno, try, 1234."_

Spy scoffed. But he didn't argue with the voice. Spy flipped, _1, 2, 3, 4,_ and holding his breath he tried to open the briefcase. 

_Click_. 

It was open. 

Spy let a shaky little gasp. He flipped the case open, not really knowing what he should expect. Some papers? Test tubes? Syringes? 

But he expected _something_ . But instead, there was _nothing_. 

Spy stared down at the empty briefcase, anger and frustration and sadness building up inside of him, rising from the depths of his soul and being. He heard only humming in his head, his heart was beating so fast it could've as well burst right through his rib cage. 

" _Spy? Spy, listen to me-"_

"Non…non", Spy spoke under his breath and shook his head. 

" _It's not real, Spy!"_

Spy stood up from the ground. He pointed down at the briefcase, giving a poke towards the case with every pressured word. 

"You're telling **me** … that everyone **died.** Protecting a briefcase, we believed held a cure. And now, I learn that… it is **empty**!?" 

" _Spy, listen to me- we can still save them all-_ " 

Spy stepped away from the briefcase and started wandering around. He held his head and felt his heart, he held his laughter and he babbled something in French. He was losing it. 

" _Spy_ **_goddammit_ ** _!! Listen to me!"_

Spy grabbed the briefcase and threw it away, causing an echo in the void. He screamed and swore. 

" _Spy! Get in the door_!" 

" **GET IN THE DOOR**!" Spy repeated with malevolence.

"What else are you going to tell me to do! You are probably the one behind all this!! Why would I trust-!" 

" _Herr Spy, Herr Spy! Please, get in the door_!" spoke another voice, a man. Spy stopped on his tracks, distraught. 

" _We can't lose you now, get in the door!_ " 

Spy turned towards the bright red door. Without giving it a second doubt, he fast paced to the door, grabbed the handle, and pushed. 

-

  
  


Spy inhaled sharply and deeply, his body arching from the seat he was leaning against. His sight was dark and blurry, his eyes and whole body ached. He had an enormous feeding tube tucked deep in his throat, and that wasn't the only tube that had been attached to his body. He was naked, cold, and he felt pain. Spy fumbled forward with his hands, there was a glass separating him from the outer world. His ears were humming loudly and Spy felt like his head would explode. His heart felt too strong in his chest. He tried to shout, but he couldn't. His lungs didn't seem to remember how to work properly. 

" _He's through! Medic, I need you!"_

 _"Ja ja ja, I know_!" 

Spy couldn't concentrate on anything specific, everything that happened around him hurt his eyes and ears and body. There was a loud ' _wwooossshhhh_ ', Spy felt how air forced itself in the capsule and he felt pressure on his body. His ears and nose started bleeding. 

It all happened quickly, though Spy had no idea what was happening. Medic, with the help of the woman who guided Spy out from that… _place_ , freed Spy from the tubes and blanketed him, Spy gagged and threw up a little. Medic pulled out his medigun and concentrated it on Spy.

Spy felt how the air around him got lighter and less hurting. Every touch on his skin hurt him a little, but it was rather a comforting feeling. Familiar. That was one of the first thoughts he was able to figure out. 

The humming in Spy's ears started getting easier, he was hyperventilating only a little. 

"Now, let's take it easy, Herr Spy. You've been under for months, and your body is very weak", spoke the _disgustingly_ comforting voice of none other than Medic himself. It brought tears to Spy's eyes. 

Spy came to realize a few things in the following moments. He was a little wet, weak and very cold. He was wrapped in warm blankets and sitting on the floor. Medic was holding him and stroking his arms and body to help blood flow. 

Spy blinked and turned his head to see Medic. He didn't know how he was there, for a long time Spy had thought Medic to be dead. But then again, he never saw him die. And, what was time, actually, in that place? 

So many questions, for which Spy trusted that he'd be briefed of in due time. 

"Medic", Spy spoke, flinching at the sound of his own voice. So weak, hoarse, barely there. Medic grinned a smug, evil grin. 

"Hullo!" he replied; "It's good to see you, mein Kamerad." 

Spy turned his attention to the woman. He frowned, fishing a name from his mind, and said then: "M-miss Pauling?" 

"Hey, Spy", Pauling greeted him softly. 

"I don't have all the answers you're looking for, Spy, but I will tell you what I know."

-

"Eight months ago, you and all the others just disappeared from the face of the world. We couldn't find any trace of where you were, even the Administrator didn't know what to do. We kept looking, even without any leads. Still to this day, I do not know why you are here, or who brought you here, but as much as I can tell, it looks like you and this, _project_ , have been long abandoned. I would've never found you if it wasn't for Medic." 

Spy, now feeling a little more alive, was sitting around a table in a large, otherwise empty dining hall with Pauling and Medic. He had cleaned himself up and worn a pair of grey pants and shirt. 

The place they were in was some kind of a secret facility, built for the most inhumane projects and research no doubt. But even so, there was no one there. No bodies, no blood, no messages or even unfinished coffee cups. It was just as if everyone had packed up for the day and left, never to return. 

"How did you escape?" Spy asked Medic while scooping some kind of porridge in his mouth. He could hardly eat it, but he had to eat something. 

"Oh, I found the bright red backdoor months ago", Medic said shrugging his shoulders. He tried to appear carefree, but Spy saw through that pretension. He saw how he had been hurting. Medic looked quite sick and fragile, a sad remnant of how he used to look before. 

"That means… You went through, all that, alone?" Spy feared to ask. The pain and fear he felt and went through as he was unplugged was something so horrible that it made him want to cry only thinking about Medic having to go through all that alone. It was a miracle he was even alive. 

But Medic just smirked. 

"Ah, ja, indeed. And then I spent three months alone in this place. But it wasn't really that bad, you see! I've had a lot of time to get familiar with this strange technology! I've figured out a way to make nourishment out of- _ah_ , well, maybe you don't want to know", Medic chuckled a little, realizing Spy wouldn't eat his food if he knew what it was made of. Spy hesitated with the next spoonful, but he was starving, so he tried to ignore what the Medic just said. 

"One couldn't build anything like this without Australium, so I'd figure we are either in Australia, or space", Medic added. 

"So, you don't know where we are? Miss Pauling?" Spy questioned and sipped water from a bottle. It tasted stale, but it was better than nothing. Pauling shook her head. 

"All I can say is that we are not in space", Pauling answered him and eyed Medic with worry. 

"But I have no idea of our specific location. It was hard to get here in the first place."

"Why is that?" Spy asked. 

"Because this place wasn't sitting still", Pauling answered. 

Spy set the spoon down. That wasn't the strangest thing he had experienced or heard of, but it was enough for him to question it nevertheless. 

"How is that possible?" he asked. 

"I don't know how, but the coordinates kept changing. I was able to find my way here with Medic's help. He managed to contact us from inside of this facility. I don't think it's possible to even pinpoint this place from outside", Pauling explained Spy and gestured with her hands. 

"So, it's like this place doesn't exist", Spy murmured. 

"In a way", Pauling replied. 

"A perfect place for secret facility!" Medic added eagerly. 

-

Spy stood next to the capsule, where Soldier was attached to. There he was, still alive, but… Lost, somewhere. Pauling had explained that all the others were still alive, but as they had died in the virtual world they were in some kind of a coma state. In limbo. 

Spy looked at Soldier. He was there, alive. Breathing, but separated from him by glass. He was alive, but he wasn't present. Spy could hear Soldier's last words to him on repeat in his mind, he could hear him scream when he was being torn apart by the living dead. But it wasn't real. 

He looked at his arms. No bite marks. Of course there wasn't. 

Spy stepped away from the capsule. The long corridor had capsules on both sides, maybe 20 in total, but 7 in use. Next to Soldier, towards the main console, were Demoman, Heavy and Scout. On the other side, from farthest to closest to the console, were seated Pyro, Sniper and Engineer. Spy had been seated between Pyro and Sniper. 

Spy walked past the capsules to the main console. He didn't know diddly-squats about any of it, but he needed to remind himself of the nightmare he also lived in, and which he was able to escape. He needed to get everyone else out of there. He couldn't leave them. 

Spy's thoughts were interrupted by something flashing on one of the screens attached to the console. He didn't know anything about this, _machine_ , but he was quite certain there wasn't a flashing icon a while ago… 

Should he call Pauling and Medic? Did they know any more than he did? 

Spy decided to press the flashing icon, and a black box opened on the screen. It was some kind of a chat box, by the looks of it. And there was writing. 

>>: Can anyone see this? 

>>: Is anyone there?

Spy bit his lip. He looked over his shoulder. The soft hum of the capsules and the engines of the machines were the only sounds in the corridor. Spy inhaled deep through his nose and lowered his fingers on the keyboard. He hesitated, ghosting his fingertips on the buttons, but he ended up typing;

<<: Who am I speaking to? 

Spy waited for an answer. He had a soft frown on his face, who could it possibly be? Was he imagining things? 

  
  


>>: Dear god

>>: Is there really someone there?? 

<<: Depends on what this, 'here', is

<<: But yes, I am real

Spy was going to ask, 'who is this', but the receiver reached first. 

>>: Who are you? Are you alone? 

Spy thought for a moment. Would it be wise to tell him- or her? Spy couldn't know who he was speaking with, but if there was any chance it could be one of his teammates, Spy felt like he should take the leap of faith. 

<<: This is Spy

He wrote, and after sending it he thought that maybe he should've been more indirect. But… This person at the other end didn't seem hostile. Wouldn't be the first time someone has toyed with him, though. Usually Spy could at least _see_ them.

A few seconds later and the chat box asked for video contact. Spy hesitated, again, but… 

_Oh, merde, if you end up ruining everything Spy…_

Spy accepted the video call. A new box opened on the screen. 

" _Spah, oh Lord Almighty-_ " 

" **Mon Dieu-** " Spy gasped, staring at the person on the screen.

" **Engineer**?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The call of the void (in French, l’appel du vide) describes this impulse to hurl yourself into, well, a void. While unnerving, it’s actually a pretty common experience. It also has nothing to do with suicidal ideation.
> 
> **
> 
> Whenever REspawn is a thing in a story, it may have different ways to work and operate. I will be explaining the REspawn in each story. Sometimes, the story and universe doesn't include REspawn.  
> ~
> 
> In some cases, I will come up with names for characters, so they can be separated and recognized from the others. For example, if there's two RED Spies, I'll call them with different names to tell them apart.  
> Down here, I will list all the used names. In some cases I will refer to characters by cosmetics.  
> Will be updated when new names appear.
> 
> BLU Engineer, older twin - Wrench  
> BLU Engineer, younger twin (gunslinger) - Slinger
> 
> RED Spy, a homburg hat (Belgian detective) - Crooked Spy  
> RED Medic, a mask, scarred face - The Doctor

**Author's Note:**

> Whenever REspawn is a thing in a story, it may have different ways to work and operate. I will be explaining the REspawn in each story. Sometimes, the story and universe doesn't include REspawn.  
> ~
> 
> In some cases, I will come up with names for characters, so they can be separated and recognized from the others. For example, if there's two RED Spies, I'll call them with different names to tell them apart.  
> Down here, I will list all the used names. In some cases I will refer to characters by cosmetics.  
> Will be updated when new names appear.
> 
> BLU Engineer, older twin - Wrench  
> BLU Engineer, younger twin (gunslinger) - Slinger 
> 
> RED Spy, a homburg hat (Belgian detective) - Crooked Spy  
> RED Medic, a mask, scarred face - The Doctor


End file.
